‘Not trying to reinvent the wheel’: Luke Williams backs Mumbai Indians’ core for WPL 2027 | EXCLUSIVE | Cricket News
Mumbai Indians missed the Women’s Premier League playoffs last season after injuries and illness disrupted their combinations and close games slipped away. New head coach Luke Williams believes the franchise can return to contention without making wholesale changes to a side that has won two titles in four seasons.“Certainly not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Williams told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interaction from Adelaide.The Australian takes over from Lisa Keightley, who left after one season in charge. Keightley had succeeded Charlotte Edwards, who guided Mumbai to their inaugural WPL title in 2023. Williams knows Edwards from their time working in England’s women’s setup and arrives with a WPL title of his own, having coached Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the championship in 2024.He spent the 2026 season away from the competition, but when the Mumbai job became available, the prospect of returning to WPL – and working with Harmanpreet Kaur – appealed to him.
“I was sort of, I guess, still a little bit surprised when it came about,” he said. “And from my end, I was extremely honoured and was interested straight away. Obviously, I’ve had some previous experience in the WPL. I had a year away from it last season and really missed being involved in the competition.”Mumbai are the two-time WPL winners, and Williams said the franchise’s record, along with the prospect of responding to a difficult campaign, made the role attractive.“The success that MI have had in all leagues, but also the WPL with two titles in the four years, was really exciting. And probably coming off a tougher year last year as well is a motivating factor to try and bounce back straight away and really compete for the title this year,” he said.
Injuries, close games and the need for consistency
Mumbai finished the 2026 league stage with three wins and five defeats, with Hayley Matthews missing the first three matches with a quad injury, while Nat Sciver-Brunt also dealt with illness. Harmanpreet scored 342 runs, Sciver-Brunt made 321, and Amelia Kerr took 14 wickets, but Mumbai could not convert enough individual performances into wins.Williams pointed to the difficulty of settling combinations in a tournament with only eight league matches. Mumbai lost close games, including their opening fixture against RCB, and had little time to recover from setbacks.“It looked like a challenging year with some injury and illness at different times. So trying to settle the combination down at different times is a big part of it. There were some close games, even the first game of the tournament against RCB. I think in this tournament where there’s only eight games, close games are so important to try to get them to go in your direction. And try to win those crucial moments,” he said.“Still had a positive net run rate last year, I think. Mumbai and RCB were the only two teams to finish with a positive net run rate. So there’s still a lot of positive signs. But just a couple of areas that we can hopefully have a bit of fortune with injury and illness. But also make sure that our processes, especially in the tighter games, are really clear and able to get over the line in those.”
Williams does not intend to overhaul the team’s approach. He wants players to be clear about their responsibilities, while allowing for changes as their games develop between WPL seasons.“Primarily there’s a lot to continue on with, I think, in terms of philosophy. But again, I guess [with] each player, it’s a year between WPLs. So the players would have developed different things. So being really clear on their role within the side, where there might be some subtle shifts from different years with that,” he said.He pointed to the retentions as an indication of the franchise’s plans.“But again, in terms of the overall makeup, I think, or the composition, you could probably see from our retentions that we’re keen to retain that core nucleus of the squad. But again, there may be some subtle changes to different roles and how we go about little bits and pieces. But certainly not trying to reinvent the wheel.”
Harmanpreet stays on as captain
Harmanpreet will continue to lead Mumbai, even as her international captaincy has ended. She stepped down as India captain this month, having led the team to its first Women’s Cricket World Cup title in 2025.For Williams, Harmanpreet remains central to his plans at Mumbai. The two have spoken online and over the phone and met during his recent visit to India.“Harman is obviously such an integral part of MI as well as Indian cricket, obviously. And will continue in the captaincy role and has just a huge presence within the franchise. Is really strong with her thoughts and beliefs and we’re really aligned in how we want to take the team forward for not only this year but hopefully years to come,” Williams said.
He values her ability to combine an intense competitive streak with composure when making decisions under pressure.“She’s able to, I think, mix a steely sort of competitiveness and desire and all those attributes that you want to see in a leader, with still having a calmness and a game knowledge and an ability to make really good decisions under pressure,” he said.“So I love the combination of the leader that’s there and stands up and always wants to compete, but also at the same time is able to be really calculated in the decisions that they make.”
The auction: immediate needs and future options
The WPL auction takes place in Kochi on October 28. Mumbai have retained Harmanpreet, Matthews, Sciver-Brunt and Kerr among others, giving Williams an experienced core to build around.His priority is to find players whose strengths complement those already in the squad, while ensuring the team has options for different pitches and conditions.“It’s making sure that each person has some strengths that we feel can, I guess, be accentuated in our program, that will match well with other players that we’ve got, I guess, depending on the conditions that we’re playing in, we’ve got options for wickets, whether they’re turning wickets or slow wickets or whatever conditions we face, we’ve got a number of options to be able to do that,” he said.The search will not be limited to players expected to start every game. Williams also wants signings who can put pressure on the first-choice XI and step in when needed.“So we’re in a really good position, I think, with a strong nucleus, experienced nucleus, but I think that’s probably the primary function of the upcoming auction is to really be targeted in some players that we think can add, whether that’s in the starting XI or putting pressure on or be ready to go if an opportunity presents,” he said.
With the current WPL auction cycle entering its final year, immediate contribution will carry weight in recruitment. Williams said the franchise would nevertheless consider younger players who could remain part of the squad beyond the coming season.“Primarily in the last year of a cycle, you probably do lean towards immediate outputs and what the person can do in the next 12 months. That’s probably certainly the initial lens that you look at players through,” he said.“But again, having a look at young players that may be able to be part of the franchise for a longer period of time, certainly cast an eye over that and be aware of that. And depending on how the auction goes or the person and how it unfolds, we’re certainly open to that option as well to add to our list.”
Data has its place, but players need to trust their game
Williams has coached in the WPL and Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League, worked with England’s women’s team and been part of a title-winning Southern Brave staff in The Hundred. Across those environments, he said, preparation and confidence in individual roles remain central.“A lot of the same things are about making sure that your teams are as well-prepared as they possibly can be, that they’re really confident in their own roles and also their teammates and the style of play that you want to do and really trying to get an environment that’s happy and people are really enjoying themselves,” he said.“There’s some ups and downs in T20 cricket. So, having a group that’s really supportive of each other, that understands that there will be those ups and downs and are able to bounce back quickly after a tough game or a tough over or a tough delivery at different times is so important.”He likes using data and analytics, but does not believe every player needs to be thinking about match-ups and statistics while batting or bowling. The information has to suit the individual.
“There’s certain players that obviously the actual data or which bowlers potentially to target or batters to target or different fields really works for them. That’s a bit of information. For others, I think it needs to very much be in the background, and the clear focus needs to be on their own individual strengths,” he said.“It’s almost the coaches and the support staff’s role to put them into the positions where they’re likely to have the most success rather than them having to think too much about whether they need to adapt. It’s actually us taking that pressure on ourselves to put them in the positions where they’re most successful.”Williams is keen to use the available information without complicating decisions for players in the middle.“I’m someone that I do like the data and analytics side of cricket, but also very mindful that it’s still a game. You don’t want to be complicating and it’s a really hard game to play. So, certainly want the players to be really focused on just what their task is at that moment and not be worrying too much about numbers and all that sort of stuff because it’s a hard enough game without a lot of the stuff,” he said.Williams has also watched the WPL’s effect on Indian women’s cricket over its four seasons. He pointed to the national team’s World Cup win and the growing willingness of players to take risks.“I’m very excited about Indian women’s cricket and the direction that it’s heading. Obviously, the WPL, we’ve had four seasons of it, and in those four years, India have won a World Cup. And so, I certainly think you can sort of see the fruits of the investment in the WPL,” he said.
“I think year on year, just the bravery and the way that the players take the game on, the athleticism across all teams and in the field continues to grow and grow every single year. But I think if I was going to pick one thing with the WPL’s growth, it’s just been that really taking the game on and that bravery to take risks and those sort of things.”As he prepares for his first season in charge of Mumbai, Williams wants the players and staff to take pride in representing the franchise.“I really want the group to love what they’re doing, to be so proud of representing MI and we’re in such a fortunate position to be able to represent the franchise, to play cricket professionally and really want to inspire the next generation of players in India and hopefully for the Mumbai Indians,” he said.“So, I really want all of our group, whether it’s our staff, our players, to be passionate about what they do, love the franchise and really enjoy ourselves because we’re very lucky to do what we do.”
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